Chance for remigration?

Peter132 · Post by **Peter132** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:33 am

My fiance and I are from Texas however her grandparents are both native Finns with her grandpa and his side of the family still living in Finland. What do you think the chances are of us getting even a temporary residence permit are? If the chances are strong (not getting my hopes up), then what about a permanent remigration permit?

Things to consider:

-I have strong ethnic and cultural ties to Germany and Sweden (fluent in German) perhaps that shows a willingness to integrate.
-She speaks a bit a Finish.
-Neither of us have higher degrees.
-Potential financial support from family.
-Both of us are in our mid 20's, are able-bodied and desire to work.
-We do not wish to move there because we want "a better life". We wish to reconnect with our heritage, motherland and support Scandinavian culture.

If it looks bleak then what do you think would increase our chance of success?

Looking for someone with experience to set me straight.

**Sponsor:**

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:53 am

Reasons for a RP are:
- family ties (but grandparents don't count)
- work (find a job first which is not easy)
- study (get accepted at a university here)
- asylum (obvious not for you)
So work or study are the only options for you.
Finding work without fluent Finnish skills and without higher education will be very difficult (chance of success is comparable with winning the lottery)
Study is quite possible, but you have to have enough money to live here (7000,- euro per person per year)

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 11:03 am

Peter132 wrote:My fiance and I are from Texas however her grandparents are both native Finns with her grandpa and his side of the family still living in Finland. What do you think the chances are of us getting even a temporary residence permit are? If the chances are strong (not getting my hopes up), then what about a permanent remigration permit?

Temporary residence permits are usually given to students. Getting one is easy: just get in to school, show required amount of money and health insurance.

Have you looked at the relevant pages and application forms in migri.fi ?

caster · Post by **caster** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 2:13 pm

Potential financial support from family

Burn little benjamin - visit - stay for short look at it closely first to know if the Scandinavian living is for you or not

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 2:57 pm

caster wrote:Burn little benjamin - visit - stay for short look at it closely first to know if the Scandinavian living is for you or not

after he gets a closer look to Scandinavian living, he should probably come and visit Finland as well.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:07 pm

rinso wrote:Reasons for a RP are:
- family ties (but grandparents don't count)
- work (find a job first which is not easy)
- study (get accepted at a university here)
- asylum (obvious not for you)
So work or study are the only options for you.

You forgot what migri calls the remigration category (imho badly named). This includes the descendants of Finnish citizens:

http://www.migri.fi/remigration/descend ... sh_citizen

Here grandparents count so getting a residence permit is just a matter of collecting the right paperwork.

rinso wrote: Finding work without fluent Finnish skills and without higher education will be very difficult (chance of success is comparable with winning the lottery)
Study is quite possible, but you have to have enough money to live here (7000,- euro per person per year)

Residence permits based on ancestry don't require proof of funds.

Peter132 wrote:If the chances are strong (not getting my hopes up), then what about a permanent remigration permit?

http://www.migri.fi/residence_permits/permit_types

However, many people for citizenship instead of the permanent permit since since they both become available after the 4 years (citizenship does have extra requirements like language skills).

Peter132 wrote: -We do not wish to move there because we want "a better life". We wish to reconnect with our heritage, motherland and support Scandinavian culture.

Finland is Scandinavian only through the historical association with Sweden. Nordic is a more accurate term.

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 4:29 pm

First step to "connecting with your heritage" (been laughing at that one for few seconds) is to get the naming right. This video will help

Peter132 · Post by **Peter132** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:50 pm

Well I must admit I believed Finland to be Scandinavian. Mainly because it's geographically in the Scandinavian peninsula. Although I have known for a long time Finland's culture is significantly different from the rest of the Nordic countries including Finish not being apart of the same language tree. I was mostly referring to my Swedish side. Thanks for clearing that up for me though. She knows more about Finland than I do at the moment.

If we ever decided to entertain the idea of actually moving there we would certainly make an extended visit first. I don't think it's ever a good idea to expect success in such a displacement without really planning for it. I'm just feeling it out because we've mentioned it in conversation as something we potentially could do one day. (even if we don't go further with this idea i'm probably still going to learn a bit of Finish for fun

)

So I have concluded (hypothetically) that because she currently has family there that is native to Finland, and after much planning and learning, all we would have to do is fill out certain paper work and we would have a strong chance of getting permanent residency? How important is being married at that point?

I have researched the migri website. That's what started this whole idea. I just want to explore this idea with people of experience that can give me real understanding of the situation rather than just take it for granted.

Thanks for all of your help. And for setting me straight on the nuanced classification of the Nordic countries.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:40 pm

If there is still a grandparent living in Finland then does it mean it was his son or daughter that moved to USA? if so, when did (s)he get the US citizenship, before or after your hubby was born? If only afterwards, then she was a Finnish citizen by birth, and would have probably lost it since, could reclaim it easily: http://www.migri.fi/finnish_citizenship ... sh_citizen

If not, the route for descendants of Finnish citizens (that are not former citizens them selves) has already been described.

As the immigration formalities aren't that big issue for you, the bigger question is then what would you plan to actually do here? Finding employment here is not that easy. Economy is poor and by most indications is going to get worse, quite possibly lot so. Neither of you are fluent in Finnish and you ave limited educational background.

Peter132 · Post by **Peter132** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:24 pm

Her grandparents moved to the U.S. for a short time and then her grandfather moved back to Finland. Her mother was born in Wisconsin in a Finish immigrant community then moved to Texas. So maybe her mother could reclaim citizenship but i doubt she would be interested in that.

So it seems her situation is covered by the remigration application and in the event she desires to move to Finland it wouldn't be too difficult at least when it comes to paperwork. Of course if in the future we decide to make a move like that we would be realistic about our situation and not just jump into something like that. For example, our education, job opportunities and language barrier. Preparing would take quite a lot of effort and dedication. However it is interesting to think of the possibilities.

Thanks for everyone's help in the matter. If you can think of anything else I should consider let me know.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 11:21 pm

Peter132 wrote: So I have concluded (hypothetically) that because she currently has family there that is native to Finland, and after much planning and learning, all we would have to do is fill out certain paper work and we would have a strong chance of getting permanent residency?

Remigration and family permits have black and white rules. Unless you have a criminal history, an A permit is virtually guaranteed with proper paperwork.

Peter132 wrote: How important is being married at that point?

Assuming your primary target is family permit (instead of work or study), if you have cohabited for two years, marriage makes no difference. Otherwise it's a requirement.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 12:10 pm

Peter132 wrote:Her mother was born in Wisconsin in a Finish immigrant community then moved to Texas. So maybe her mother could reclaim citizenship but i doubt she would be interested in that.

She could reclaim the citizenship definitely as apparently both or at least one of her parents were citizens when she was born. As for her daughter (your GF), it is harder to tell. if she was born when her mother was still fairly young, it is more likely her mother would not have considered yet have lost her citizenship and therefore would have able give it to her daughter when she was born.

(But even if not, she could move here in easily as far as legal requirements are considered. As stated before, you'd need to be tied by a two years co-habitation OR marriage to qualify with her.)

Jukka Aho · Post by **Jukka Aho** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 2:29 pm

Peter132 wrote:Well I must admit I believed Finland to be Scandinavian. Mainly because it's geographically in the Scandinavian peninsula.

Not that it matters but geographically, only (some of) the most northern parts of the country are considered to lie in the peninsula. There is no exact definition of the borders, though.

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